Local School Councils Are Out To Lure Candidates

Media Push Planned For April 5-6 Elections

When a local school council member in the Logan Square neighborhood knocked on Idida Perez's door in 1991, Perez had no idea she would be answering the call literally and figuratively.

The school council member from Monroe School was there to encourage Perez to run for a position on the council. A new resident in the area, Perez tried to turn the recruiter down, but the woman was persistent--even waiting at the door while Perez left to turn off her stove.

It paid off. The woman intrigued Perez when she asked if she knew that schools were overcrowded.

"That got her foot in the door," said Perez, who nine years later is seeking re-election to the council in the April 5 and 6 election. After that, she said, "It got in my blood."

Perez now is director of the West Town Leadership Project, which among other things recruits candidates to run for local school councils. To boost that often difficult effort, the West Town group has received about $10,000 from the Chicago School Leadership Development Cooperative.

The cooperative, an umbrella organization for more than 70 neighborhood and business groups, has launched a $420,000 multimedia campaign aimed at attracting thousands of candidates--all before the end of the month. It's the largest promotional effort of school council elections since the inception of the councils in 1989.

The campaign includes TV, radio and newspaper advertising, but the bulk of the funds--$250,000--has been distributed to 36 neighborhood groups, which have been entrusted to find qualified candidates, particularly on the South and West Sides where local school councils have not been adequately represented in the past.

"Chicago public school reform depends so heavily on participation of community members and parents that accepting a decline in that participation would be foolish," said Andrew Wade, executive director of the Chicago School Leadership Development Cooperative. "Local school councils need to be strengthened, and more people need to know about them."

The goal is to have contested races for each of the nearly 6,000 seats up for grabs. That means nearly 12,000 candidates must file papers indicating their desire to run by the Feb. 29 deadline.

So far, only about 1,500 have filed.

This year's election is the first since the legislature reduced the councils' power, allowing their removal of principals to be challenged and possibly overturned by an arbitrator. Council members must also pass criminal background checks for the first time.

The councils, however, still have the power to select principals and approve school budgets and improvement plans. Those leading the campaign to attract more candidates for the two-year positions said the weakened power of the councils has not discouraged people from running.

But the councils do suffer from increasing community apathy. In 1989, 17,096 candidates ran for nearly 6,000 seats, and 311,946 voters cast ballots. Two years ago, there were 7,266 candidates, and only 147,363 people voted.

"Every election cycle we have a hard time finding people interested in doing it. It's unfortunate, because these are critical positions," said Gery Chico, president of the Chicago Board of Education. The school system has a budget of about $1.5 million for the elections, but only about $200,000 of that will be spent on an advertising campaign separate from the Chicago School Leadership Development Cooperative's effort, he said.

To run, candidates either must live in the area served by the school or have a child in the school. They do not have to be U.S. citizens or registered to vote.

Of the elected positions on a council, there are six slots for parents, two for community representatives and two for teachers available every two years. The public can vote for parent and community representatives, while teachers in each school select the teacher representatives. A student sits on each high school council, and principals of each of the more than 500 schools are members.

The Woods Foundation of Chicago gave $50,000 this year toward the recruitment effort.

"What you want to do is get out there," said Todd Dietterle, vice president of the foundation. "(Community groups) are the glue, they are the connect, they carry the messages between the cells."

The Joyce Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation each gave $125,000, the biggest contributions.

"Local involvement in the education of one's child is very important," said Warren Chapman, program officer for the Joyce Foundation. "You have to give incentives to encourage people to do it."